Poetry Without Limits

Absolute Zero

- -
She lay there on the couch
Watching the windswept snow
Batter the naked trees outside
As the judgment sunk into her:

“Inoperable”. She wondered
How long she had, if she would live
To see one more blossoming of spring
Or if the cancer brewing inside her

Had chosen winter’s heart for the date
She would be executed. But that
Was not for her to decide
All she had to do now was look back

And determine if she’d made the most
Of her given time, if she’d loved
And laughed as well as she could,
If she’d finally know if God can dance

- - - Richard Schnap is a poet, songwriter and collagist living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His poems have most recently appeared locally, nationally and overseas in a variety of print and online publications.